>> i am dr. to draw some. my pronouns are she and her. for almost 14 years i have been honored to serve as an abortion care physician. of southwest in central florida. [cheering & applause} on behalf of all of the health-care workers, doctors, nurses, staff that work day in and day out to ensure patients get the care they need here in florida, thank you. [applause] it is so meaningful to see our community show up here today and to be joined not only by great leaders from our movement but by

our incredible champions for reproductive rights, vice president kamala harris. [applause] we have traveled through rain, on buses and planes and piled into our own cars to join together in this space to commemorate roe v. wade and our right to abort -- our right to abortion which was stolen last summer. [booing] since the dobbs decision my party has felt hurting over and over again. we must tell patients we cannot give them the care we are trained and qualified to provide. they understand we want to help and they don't blame us. but they know that they no longer have control over their own bodies. [booing]

for those of us who have been marginalized for so long, people can become pregnant, people with black or brown skin, people with lower incomes, those who don't speak the dominant language or have differing abilities, the loss of our reproductive freedom has told us we are less important, less valuable and less safe. i do my best to create that feeling in my exam room as i hold the hand of my patients who trekked from across the southeast for care they should have been able to access in their own communities. sometimes that comfort is all i can offer. recently i cared for a patient who learned at her appointment that she was post the age limit.

because of florida's forced weighting. -- forced weighting period i could not give her the care she needed. after that waiting period expired, she would have been too far along to get an abortion in the state of florida. [booing] because of that, she needed to figure out how to care for her nine month old baby while traveling to another state, potentially quitting her job. and with the potential of feeding her child at risk. there are so many people like her who experience the unnecessary harm and pain that comes with being denied the basic health care they need. that is why it is so important that we not lose hope. we must build it.

[cheering & applause] we must continue to show up for our communities. we need leaders like vice president harris. [applause] as an abortion physician it means a great deal to me to have a vice president who were her entire career has stood up to my patients, for my fellow providers and for all of us. as an abortion care advocate, i admire vice president harris commitment to listening to health care providers, social justice leaders, legal experts and legislators on the front line that fight in our state. as an indian american woman it means i can tell my three-year-old daughter that i was coming to introduce a vice

president who is half indian just like her. [cheers & applause] those are such powerful and inspiring words, just like her. and as they say on family karma, if you know you know, so proud to have auntie g in the house. it is my incredible honor to introduce an amazing human who knows just like we all do that health care is a human rights. and that, say it with me, abortion is health care. welcome and thank you, vice president kamala harris. [cheers]

♪ vice pres. harris: thank you. we love all of our frontline folks. this room is filled with them. filled with them. good afternoon everyone. it is good to be back in florida. [cheers & applause] tallahassee in the house.

before we talk about the subject , i want to address the tragedy of what happened in my home state of monterey park, california. a time of a cultural celebration and yet another community has been torn apart by gun violence. doug and i joined the president and dr. biden and everyone here morning for those who were killed as we pray for those who were injured and as we grieve for those many people whose lives are forever changed. all of us in this room and in our country understand this violence must stop. president biden and i and our administration will continue to provide full support to local authorities as we learn more. with that i want to address another topic which is the

reason we all joined together today. i am honored to be with members of the united states congress who are here. state and local elected officials. [cheers & applause] i am glad to be with you. and all the coalition partners represented here. give it up for everyone. [cheers & applause] we are here together because we collectively believe and know america is a promise. america is a promise. it is a promise of freedom and liberty. not for some, but for all. [cheers & applause]

a promise we made in the declaration of independence. that we are each endowed with the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. [cheers & applause] these rights were not bestowed upon us. they belong to us as americans. [cheers & applause] and it is that freedom and liberty that enabled generations of americans to chart their own course and decide their own future. with ambition and aspiration. therein lies the strength of our nation.

and since our founding we have been on a march forward to fully realize our promise. to complete the unfinished work to secure freedom and liberty for all. [cheers & applause] these outcomes will not be inevitable. they will not just happen. it takes steadfast determination and dedication. the kind of determination and dedication possessed by some of our greatest patriots. those americans who fault -- who fought a civil war to end slavery. [applause]

who organized at seneca falls to ensure -- to secure a woman's right to vote. [applause] who launched the freedom rides to advance civil rights. [applause] and spoke out at the stonewall to defendant human rights. [applause] in each of these movements, those leaders expanded rights, which advanced the cause of freedom and liberty. 50 years ago today, so did those who won a fight in the united states supreme court to recognize fundamental, constitutional right of a woman to make decisions about her own body.

[cheers & applause] not the government. [applause] for nearly 50 years americans relied on the right that row protected. today, however, on what would have been its 50th anniversary, we speak of the roe decision in the past tense. because last june the united states supreme court took away that constitutional right, a fundamental right, a basic freedom, from the people of america, from the women of america. the court's action has meant

already that many dedicated doctors and nurses now lose their ability to care for their patients. that providers go to jail just for doing their job. and that patients are denied critical care and even fear that they will be punished simply for seeking care. it has meant that a 10-year-old child who was sexually assaulted and became pregnant had to leave her home state and travel to another to get care. the doctor that treated her faced death threats and to take

away her medical license. to amanda, a 30 five-year-old woman in texas, it meant in the midst of a miscarriage, she was denied treatment three times, in three days at an emergency room because of that state's abortion ban. only after she developed sepsis, an infection that almost killed her, did the hospital finally admit her. thank god amanda survived and she, with her husband josh is here today. [cheers & applause]

i want to thank them both for having the courage to tell their story in a way that will inspire so many individuals and their families to know they are not alone. the consequences of the supreme court's ruling are not only limiting to those who need reproductive care. other basic health care is at risk. consider emma, a 14-year-old who lives in arizona. she manages her chronic arthritis with medications that allow her to go to school and live her life without constant pain. the medications can also cause pregnancy loss. within weeks of the dobbs decision, her pharmacy initially refused to fill her prescription, afraid that they could be prosecuted under the state's radical thoughts.

all of these devastating experiences, the direct results of laws designed by extremists, including in states like florida. [cheers & applause] last year, so called leaders at the statehouse here in tallahassee passed a radical abortion band with no exceptions, even for the survivors of crimes like rate, child molestation and human trafficking. [booing] here in florida, health care providers can face prison for up to five years for simply doing their job. and now, the state has also targeted medication abortion.

and even threatened with criminal charges if they provide medications prescribed by medic can -- by medical professionals. and florida is not alone. 22 states have announced they will not follow federal rules that allow women to get medication prescribed by their doctor from a certified pharmacy. imagine. so, today, we are fighting back. [cheers & applause] i am pleased to announce that president biden has issued a presidential memorandum on this issue. members of our cabinet and our administration are now directed

as the president's order to identify barriers to access to prescription medication and to recommend access, to make sure doctors can legally prescribe, that pharmacies can dispense and that women can secure safe and effective medication. [cheers & applause] president biden has done that. at the same time we worked to protect this aspect of reproductive care, many states have gone even further and now have total bands in effect. alabama, missouri and south dakota just to name a few. as clinics close in those states

, patients have lost access to other basic care. such as routine checkups. cancer screenings and contraception's. to everyone listening, be sure, no one is immune from these impacts. even in states that protect reproductive rights, like new jersey, illinois, oregon, even then, people live in fear of what might be next. because republicans in congress are now calling for a nationwide abortion ban. [booing] some even from the moment of conception. the right of every woman in every state in this country to make decisions about her own body is on the line.

i have said it before, and i will say it again, how dare they? [cheers & applause] how dare they? [applause] there is a collection of words that mean everything to us as americans. the heartfelt words of our great national anthem. that america is the land of the free and the home of the brave. [cheers & applause] can we truly be free if a woman cannot make decisions about her own body? can we truly be free if a doctor cannot care for her patients? >> no!

vice pres. harris: can we truly be free if families cannot make intimate decisions about the course of their own lives? >> no! vice pres. harris: and can we truly be free if so-called leaders claim to be, "on the vanguard of freedom" while they dare to restrict the rights of american people and attack the very foundation of freedom? [cheers & applause] understand the majority of americans oppose these attacks. americans of every background, in every community have voiced their perspectives. from kansas, to california,

michigan, montana, kentucky and vermont. they spoke with their vote. in essence, they said, one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held belief to agree that the government should not be telling people what to do with their own bodies. [cheers & applause] president biden and i agree. we will never back down. we will not back down. and we know this fight will not be one until we secure this right for every american. congress must pass a bill that protects freedom and liberty. [cheers & applause]

a bill that protects reproductive rights. and president biden will sign it. [cheers & applause] so, yes. america is a promise. a promise we must all make real. in every state, every community, every statehouse, every doctors office, and yes, every election. let us not be tired or discouraged. because we are on the right side of history. [cheers & applause]

we will continue to stand together to protect the freedom and liberty of all people, all women everywhere and here now, on this 50th anniversary, let us resolve to make history and secure this rights. [cheers & applause] today i invite all americans to join us and remember when we fight, we win. thank you all. may god bless you and may god bless america. thank you all. [cheers & applause] ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, we ask you to remain in the building for a few minutes. remain in the building for a few more minutes. ♪

♪

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